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A
still from 'Raju & I'
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MUMBAI
:In what is an encouraging sign for small and mid sized independent
animation studios in India, Animagic India's 'Raju & I'
has won the UNICEF Regione Campania Prize at the prestigious
Cartoons On the Bay Festival in Italy.It
was amongst 14 films selected in this category and the only
one from Asia.
This
award takes
the film's total awards tally to five, the booty also includes
honours at the likes of NewYork Film & Television Festival
, FICCI BAF awards amongst others.
Directed by Gayatri Rao, commissioned and distributed by childrens
charitable trust ASEEMA, the 30 minute short film was made on
a shoestring budget of US$50,000. The animation being mostly
hand drawn, the film was two years in the making. |
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When contacted, Animagic India spokesperson Romel Dias said
that "'Raju & I' is aimed at creating an awareness
about social conditions and deals with issues faced by underprivileged
children, as seen from the eyes of a 12-year-old city boy."
On being asked the modus operandi for entering festivals,
he added " Earlier, when we started out we were aware
of a few well known festivals like the ones at Ottawa, Hiroshima
& Edinburgh, and the big ones like Cannes. Gradually we
have formed a habit of searching the Internet for details
about animation festivals, we download forms and send across
our entries, sometimes we get calls from other organisers
who have seen our film at a festival. Once your movie starts
circulating, invitations to festivals and the like follow"
Interestingly, inspite of their film featuring at so many
international festivals they have not yet
visited
any festival themselves, preferring to send across entries
and keep their overheads in check. It also goes to show how
passion, hardwork and initiative can overcome obstacles caused
by budgetary constraints. Way to go !
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